This invention relates to securing deformable hoses on rigid tubular fittings such as those found in automobile engines to provide fluid flow. More particularly, the invention relates to a hose clamp retention device to position and retain a clamp on a hose ready to be activated after the hose has been positioned over one of the rigid tubular fittings.
It has become common practice to pre-assemble clamps on a hose and provide this assembly to the automobile assembly line. The clamps are typically placed on the hose and either glued in position or held in place by a clamp retention device which engages the hose to hold the clamp in place. The clamp is then in place to be released closed into a condition to apply a radial compressive load on the hose.
An example of such a clamp retention device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,871. Typically, such devices are arranged about the clamp at the location of the clamp on the hose. Consequently, when the hose is pushed on to a rigid tubular fitting, the hose must be free to expand slightly and this expansion can be impeded by the mechanical device. This is because the device usually applies some form of radial compression on the hose in order to hold the device, and hence the clamp, in place on the hose.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,739, a clamp retention device is provided to minimize the effect of a clamp retaining structure on the normal procedure for placing a prestressed open clamp on a hose and then engaging the hose on a rigid tubular fitting. The device extends generally about a longitudinal axis and has a retainer and a locator spaced axially from the retainer in side-by-side relationship. The locator and retainer are coupled together and the locator holds the clamp while the retainer engages the hose to maintain the device in position on the hose. In a preferred embodiment, the retainer comprises a belt having a toothed piece at a free end which is selectively engageable with a rectangular opening at another end of the belt. The toothed piece must pass through the opening and find a tooth that applies the necessary compressive load to affix the belt in position.
An object of this invention is to facilitate assembly of the device on a rigid tubular fitting without having the added difficulty of assembling a retainer to maintain the device in position on the hose.
A retention device is provided for positioning and retaining an open, generally cylindrical hose clamp on a selected hose. The device extends generally about a longitudinal axis and has a retainer and a locator spaced axially from the retainer in side-by-side relationship. The locator and retainer are coupled together and the locator is adapted to hold the clamp while the retainer is adapted to engage the hose to maintain the device in position on the hose. The retainer comprises a pair of looped generally cylindrical hose engaging elements terminating at respective free ends so that the elements are cantilevered to extend in opposite directions from a connecting web.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the clamp locator is generally cylindrical and arranged about a first axis, the hose engaging elements being arranged abut a second axis radially spaced from said first axis toward said connecting web.